Men and their Dogs

While having a latte with a perfect heart on top at Noble Coffee in Ashland, I noticed a little dog sitting with a group of men in the sun outside where we elected to sit. It developed that the dog didn't belong to any of the men, although one was contemplating taking it home to his wife. It was all kitted out in a harness with skulls and crossbones on it and didn't seem to be homeless, however. Turns out that it belonged to another fellow, also sitting outside, or rather not sitting outside when we first noticed the little dog. However, before the other man took it home, he emerged from the coffee shop and sat back at his table. Neither he nor his dog seemed to acknowledge each other in any way, but they obviously had established a comfortable routine.

We hit the I-5 North for Corvallis, driving through a number of pretty mountain passes, marred by huge bare patches of hillside which have been clear cut by the timber industry, up the Willamette Valley dotted with tidy farms, cows, sheep and lumber mills, and on to our friends in Corvallis and a sumptuous lunch of melon tomato and seared scallops.

We passed two fellows on motorcycles along the way. One had fishing poles sticking out of his backpack, and the other had...a teddy bear? No, wait, it's a dog! Wait, go back--never mind, don't do that. Slow down....With a good deal of cooperation from OilMan, I managed to capture the little fellow. Couldn't help noticing the contrast between the driver with his helmet, and leathers, and his passenger in a tote bag attached to the bike with a couple of bungees. At 60 mph he was being buffeted around quite a bit, both seemed to be happy....No accounting for men and their dogs--especially manly men and their wee doggies....